AAP, BJP spar over Delhi’s financial health

The BJP said that the AAP government emptied Delhi’s treasury over the years and Atishi’s claims of economic health is the ‘biggest lie’

Outgoing Delhi chief minister Atishi on Friday said that the Delhi government’s budget increased from ₹31,000 crore in 2014-15 to ₹77,000 crore in 2024-25 under the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, adding that the AAP is handing over a budget marked by strong economic growth to the new Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government. She said the BJP must fulfil all its electoral promises without making excuses about funds by citing a financial crisis in the Delhi government.

Atishi during a press conference at AAP party headquarters in New Delhi on Friday. (Vipin Kumar/HT Photo)

In response, the BJP MP from South Delhi, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, said that the AAP government emptied Delhi’s treasury over the years and Atishi’s claims of economic health is the “biggest lie.” “Recently, the AAP government sought a loan of ₹10,000 crore from the central government to pay salaries to their employees. In such a situation, the boast of economic development of Delhi by acting chief minister Atishi is the biggest lie till date. The AAP government has brought Delhi to a state of poverty due to scams worth crores,” he said.

The BJP won a landslide victory in the recently concluded Delhi assembly elections winning 48 of the 70 seats while the AAP, which ruled Delhi between 2015 and 2025, was reduced to just 22 seats. To be sure, the BJP is yet to announce who their chief minister will be and who will be in the new cabinet.

Atishi alleged that the “BJP leaders are embroiled in internal fights over ministerial positions, each vying for control over departments to maximise their share of loot”.

“During the Delhi elections, the BJP made several promises to the people. They distributed a leaflet under ‘Modi Ji Ki Guarantee,’ with the first promise saying that every woman in Delhi would receive ₹2,500 per month as financial assistance. The BJP repeatedly said that as soon as their government was formed, this decision would be taken in the first cabinet meeting, and by March 8, the first instalment of ₹2,500 would be deposited into the accounts of every woman in Delhi. Sources within the BJP have revealed that not only do they have no intention of fulfilling this promise, they also have no plans to honour any of the other commitments made during the elections,” Atishi said during a press conference at AAP headquarters on Friday afternoon.

“Their strategy is to shift the blame for their unfulfilled promises onto the AAP, claiming that they couldn’t deliver due to an alleged financial crisis in the Delhi government. They will attempt to use this excuse to cover up their own loot and justify breaking their promises,” Atishi said.

She said that when the AAP government was formed in 2015, Delhi’s total budget stood at ₹31,000 crore. “Over the five preceding years (2009-2014), the budget had grown by only ₹6,000 crore, from ₹25,000 crore to ₹31,000 crore. After the AAP came to power, the budget saw a historic increase. In 2024-25, the Delhi assembly presented a budget of ₹77,000 crore—a rise of ₹46,000 crore in 10 years. Under Arvind Kejriwal’s leadership, Delhi’s economy grew more than two-and-a-half times, from ₹31,000 crore to ₹77,000 crore,” Atishi said, adding that the debt-to-GDP ratio of the AAP government stands at 3% as compared to 6.6% in 2014.

Hitting back, Bidhuri, who was the chairman of the manifesto committee of the BJP for the Delhi elections, said: “The new BJP government will fulfil all its promises and also arrange funds for it. The people paid taxes honestly to the Delhi government, but Atishi should tell how the Delhi Jal Board came into a loss of ₹75,000 crores. Why is the Delhi Transport Corporation incurring a loss of more than ₹2,500 crore every year? Where did the ₹8,500 crore given by the central government for cleaning the Yamuna go? In whose pocket did the more than ₹2,000 crore of the liquor scam go? How much damage was done to Delhi by the ₹1,300 crore education scam, the ₹500 crore panic button scam and the Mohalla Clinic scam by conducting 65,000 fake diagnostic tests? The CAG reports will be presented in the first session of the Assembly which will expose the AAP government’s scams.”